ickk.sk sk

Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards 2026

14.5 Thursday
INNOVATION &TECH WEEK
Nominations closed

Gala evening of innovation and personalities

Nominate personalities and projects that deserve recognition. Submit your nomination by April 19, 2026!

More about SISA
Nominationnfor category
Entrepreneur of Slovakia Nominations closed
Nominationnfor category
Startup of Slovakia Nominations closed
Nominationnfor category
Startup of Košice Region Nominations closed

The event is organized by the Innovation Centre of the Košice Region (ICKK) under the auspices of the Research and Innovation Authority (VAIA) and the Association of Self-Governing Regions of the Slovak Republic (SK8).

About the event

SISA 2026 is a prestigious gala evening whose mission is to recognize and highlight the most significant innovations, projects, and personalities from the fields of science, research, startups, and business in Slovakia and the Košice Region.

The event is organized by the Innovation Centre of the Košice Region (ICKK) under the auspices of the Research and Innovation Authority (VAIA) and the Association of Self-Governing Regions of the Slovak Republic (SK8). SISA 2026 is a platform where leaders, scientists, and startup founders meet to inspire each other and push the boundaries of what is possible.

SISA 2026 Award Categories and Nominations

In 2026 we recognize excellence in 8 categories:

SISA 2026 — Entrepreneur of Slovakia
SISA 2026 — Startup of Slovakia
SISA 2026 — Startup of Košice Region
SISA 2026 — Student Startup of Košice Region (Founders Challenge 2026 Winner)
SISA 2026 — Scientific Personality of Slovakia
SISA 2026 — Scientific Personality of Technical University of Košice (TUKE)
SISA 2026 — Scientific Personality of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJŠ)
SISA 2026 — Scientific Personality of University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy (UVLF)

Gala evening program and performers

18:00 – 18:30 Invited guest arrival
18:30 Event start
18:30 – 18:35 Dance performance — Vertigo
18:35 – 19:00 Award ceremony (2 categories)
19:00 – 19:10 Music and dance — Dara Rolins
19:10 – 19:40 Award ceremony (2 categories)
19:40 – 19:50 Music and dance — Dara Rolins
19:50 – 20:15 Award ceremony (3 categories)
20:15 – 20:20 Dance performance — Vertigo
20:20 Event closing, networking and afterparty

What do last year's SISA 2025 winners say?

Get inspired by leaders whose work was recognized:

Miroslav Hennel

We didn't expect anything more than a pleasant event and a chance to network with interesting people from business and investment. And that came true, but on top of that we made it to the stage among a handful of award winners, which is still a great honour. It significantly helped us raise awareness about the importance of quality data and show that tech startups have a future in Slovakia.

OWASMOOTH (Early-stage Startup)

MVDr. Andrea Laukov00e1

An excellent event that combines professionalism, creativity, and spontaneity into a unique experience!

SAS (Scientific Personality of the Year)

prof. Ing. Peter Drot00e1r, PhD.

I perceived the SISA award primarily as a signal that systematic and long-term scientific work has its significance and resonance beyond the narrow academic environment. At the same time, it helps highlight people and topics that would otherwise struggle to reach broader awareness.

TUKE (Scientific Personality of the Year)

prof. MVDr. Dagmar Mudro0148ov00e1, PhD.

I greatly value the award within the Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards in the Scientific Personality of the Year category. The SISA edition showed that Slovakia has a strong innovation and scientific community capable of delivering interesting and practical solutions with real impact on society.

UVLF (Scientific Personality of the Year)

Miroslav Hennel

We didn't expect anything more than a pleasant event and a chance to network with interesting people from business and investment. And that came true, but on top of that we made it to the stage among a handful of award winners, which is still a great honour. It significantly helped us raise awareness about the importance of quality data and show that tech startups have a future in Slovakia.

OWASMOOTH (Early-stage Startup)

MVDr. Andrea Laukov00e1

An excellent event that combines professionalism, creativity, and spontaneity into a unique experience!

SAS (Scientific Personality of the Year)

prof. Ing. Peter Drot00e1r, PhD.

I perceived the SISA award primarily as a signal that systematic and long-term scientific work has its significance and resonance beyond the narrow academic environment. At the same time, it helps highlight people and topics that would otherwise struggle to reach broader awareness.

TUKE (Scientific Personality of the Year)

prof. MVDr. Dagmar Mudro0148ov00e1, PhD.

I greatly value the award within the Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards in the Scientific Personality of the Year category. The SISA edition showed that Slovakia has a strong innovation and scientific community capable of delivering interesting and practical solutions with real impact on society.

UVLF (Scientific Personality of the Year)

Miroslav Hennel

We didn't expect anything more than a pleasant event and a chance to network with interesting people from business and investment. And that came true, but on top of that we made it to the stage among a handful of award winners, which is still a great honour. It significantly helped us raise awareness about the importance of quality data and show that tech startups have a future in Slovakia.

OWASMOOTH (Early-stage Startup)

MVDr. Andrea Laukov00e1

An excellent event that combines professionalism, creativity, and spontaneity into a unique experience!

SAS (Scientific Personality of the Year)

prof. Ing. Peter Drot00e1r, PhD.

I perceived the SISA award primarily as a signal that systematic and long-term scientific work has its significance and resonance beyond the narrow academic environment. At the same time, it helps highlight people and topics that would otherwise struggle to reach broader awareness.

TUKE (Scientific Personality of the Year)

prof. MVDr. Dagmar Mudro0148ov00e1, PhD.

I greatly value the award within the Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards in the Scientific Personality of the Year category. The SISA edition showed that Slovakia has a strong innovation and scientific community capable of delivering interesting and practical solutions with real impact on society.

UVLF (Scientific Personality of the Year)

Special guest

Dara RolinsDanceperformance
19:00 & 19:40

Dara Rolins
Dance
performance

Side Event & Workshop

AI is not a tool. It is a change of rules.

  • Date Thursday 14 May 2026
  • Time 9:00 – 11:00
  • Location FPT Slovakia, Južná trieda 6, 040 01 Košice — Juh
  • Capacity 30 people
Show details

Every generation gets a moment when the rules are rewritten. This is yours. We will talk about why prompting is not enough, what AI agents are, and why now — not in five years — is the right time to build differently.

Speaker: Tomáš Lörinc

Register

What else does Innovation & Tech Week offer?

11.5 Monday

Founders Challenge

The grand finale of high-school startups, where teams can win support of up to €20,000 to complete their project. See the talents of the Košice region in action, already solving world-class problems.

Registration closed Day program
12.5 Tuesday

Sweet&Salty AI – Finale

Experience raw startup energy. Get ready for sharp pitching. Startups will face investors and fight for an investment of €10,000.

Registration closed Day program
13.5 Wednesday

AI & Quantum Conference

Cross the boundary of theory and enter the era where artificial intelligence meets quantum advantage. AI & Quantum Conference in Košice is a high-signal event designed for leaders and builders who want to move innovations from labs to real-world deployment. World-class experts led by Ismael Faro from IBM are coming to Košice.

Registration closed Day program
14.5 Thursday

Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards 2026

We will celebrate the success of the best among us. The entire week will culminate with the prestigious Slovak Innovation and Startup Awards.

Nominations closed Day program
15.5 Friday

OdkukajTo in Aupark

Join us for OdkukajTo event, this time in the heart of Košice. Together we will open the topic of innovation in business and welcome guests from the east who are changing the rules of the game.

Registration closed Day program
11.5 Monday

Founders Challenge

The grand finale of high-school startups, where teams can win support of up to €20,000 to complete their project. See the talents of the Košice region in action, already solving world-class problems.

Registration closed Day program
12.5 Tuesday

Sweet&Salty AI – Finale

Experience raw startup energy. Get ready for sharp pitching. Startups will face investors and fight for an investment of €10,000.

Registration closed Day program
13.5 Wednesday

AI & Quantum Conference

Cross the boundary of theory and enter the era where artificial intelligence meets quantum advantage. AI & Quantum Conference in Košice is a high-signal event designed for leaders and builders who want to move innovations from labs to real-world deployment. World-class experts led by Ismael Faro from IBM are coming to Košice.

Registration closed Day program
14.5 Thursday

Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards 2026

We will celebrate the success of the best among us. The entire week will culminate with the prestigious Slovak Innovation and Startup Awards.

Nominations closed Day program
15.5 Friday

OdkukajTo in Aupark

Join us for OdkukajTo event, this time in the heart of Košice. Together we will open the topic of innovation in business and welcome guests from the east who are changing the rules of the game.

Registration closed Day program
11.5 Monday

Founders Challenge

The grand finale of high-school startups, where teams can win support of up to €20,000 to complete their project. See the talents of the Košice region in action, already solving world-class problems.

Registration closed Day program
12.5 Tuesday

Sweet&Salty AI – Finale

Experience raw startup energy. Get ready for sharp pitching. Startups will face investors and fight for an investment of €10,000.

Registration closed Day program
13.5 Wednesday

AI & Quantum Conference

Cross the boundary of theory and enter the era where artificial intelligence meets quantum advantage. AI & Quantum Conference in Košice is a high-signal event designed for leaders and builders who want to move innovations from labs to real-world deployment. World-class experts led by Ismael Faro from IBM are coming to Košice.

Registration closed Day program
14.5 Thursday

Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards 2026

We will celebrate the success of the best among us. The entire week will culminate with the prestigious Slovak Innovation and Startup Awards.

Nominations closed Day program
15.5 Friday

OdkukajTo in Aupark

Join us for OdkukajTo event, this time in the heart of Košice. Together we will open the topic of innovation in business and welcome guests from the east who are changing the rules of the game.

Registration closed Day program

Partners

Nominations closed

Acceptance of SISA 2026 nominations has ended.